F1 Abu Dhabi GP: 5 key takeaways from qualifying
Lewis Hamilton claimed his 11th pole of 2018 and broke the track record at the Yas Marina Circuit in the process earlier today. The World Champion isn't taking his foot off of the accelerator since clinching his fifth title in Mexico and could make it back-to-back wins to round off what has been a perfect season for the Brit.
Having never won a race after confirming a title in the past (something that arguably cost him back in 2015 going to 2016) he's taking no prisoners in 2018, ensuring that he and Mercedes go into 2019 on the front foot. There were plenty of stories up and down the grid, though, so who else made headlines?
#1 Mercedes with a fifth straight 1-2
Valtteri Bottas made it a 1-2 for the Mercedes team on Saturday, the fifth straight perfect qualifying session for the Silver Arrows in the UAE. No other team has ever achieved this before at the same Grand Prix, showing how dominant they've been in the hybrid era and at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Aside from Nico Rosberg's mechanical issues in 2014, the team have also finished in 1-2 formation in every race during the current engine generation, and with today's qualifying showing, this could easily be the case tomorrow too.
This result is hardly a surprise, though, Hamilton is simply the best of the current drivers on a Saturday afternoon, that's now 83 in total for his career and if he keeps going like this, he could get over a century of pole positions by the time he retires. Sebastian Vettel was their closest challenger and will be looking to jump Bottas at the start, especially with the Ferrari man starting on the clean side of the grid.